


One Thing at a Time

by LittleMissBrightside



Series: Girl Direction Flash Fics [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Exes, F/F, Girl Direction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:01:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26885530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissBrightside/pseuds/LittleMissBrightside
Summary: The one where Harry is stuck in a storage unit and should probably consult Liam before making rash decisions.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Series: Girl Direction Flash Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1961590
Kudos: 10





	One Thing at a Time

**Author's Note:**

> The prompts were: the inside of a storage unit - a main character is an awkward or embarrassing situation.

Harry rolls her eyes as Liam laughs through the phone. She placed the call on speaker when it connected and as a result, her laughter echoes through the small space. It bounces off the metal walls of the storage unit, boxing Harry in. She has nowhere to run from her embarrassment. 

“Are you quite finished, Li?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she says, still sounding far too amused. “It’s just that—”

“Yes”—Harry grits her teeth—“I locked myself in my ex-girlfriend’s storage unit at eight in the goddamn morning. Hilarious.” 

“You know, if you would have told me your plan, I would have told you it was a bad idea.”

“I know that. That’s precisely why I didn’t tell you.”

“I have so many questions, I don’t even know where to start.”

“This is your fault, you know.”

“How is this my fault?”

Harry sits down on the edge of the loveseat. It’s soft to the touch but smells faintly of sandalwood and cigarettes and she refuses to carry the wave of nostalgia with her when she‘s finally able to get out of here. “Well if you had just asked Louis for my things, then I wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“You know, it’s hard enough sometimes being best friends with two people who broke up and then never spoke to each other again. I mean, it’s been a year H. I just didn’t think that would be very fair to her. I don’t understand why you can’t just talk to her.”

Harry wipes away the tears at the corners of her eyes. “Just like you said, it’s been a year. What would I even say?”

Liam sighs. “I don’t know. Are you okay?”

Harry looks around the unit, illuminated only by the flashlight on her phone and a battery operated night light. “Well, physically I’m okay. Probably a good thing I’m not claustrophobic. But I’m humiliated and I would really love it if you would come rescue me as soon as possible.”

“You know, there’s a very simple solution to all of this and she’s like 50 yards away instead of across town.”

“No, absolutely not. Liam, please just tell me you’re on your way.”

“I promise you’ll be out of there soon. Did you at least find what you were looking for?”

“No. All I found was a bike, a skateboard, skis, and a few boxes. All but one were taped up. And I swear I didn’t mean to like, look in it, but it was open and there was something sticking out the top of it.”

“What was it?”

Harry looks at the side table, eyes welling up again. “God okay, don’t laugh. But it’s this heart shaped battery operated night light and it says  _ love you _ on it. I have a blue one and Louis’ is green. We found them at a gift shop ages ago and kind of bought them as a joke, it was just some silly thing. And I haven’t needed a night light since I was like ten, ya know? But it just became a thing...if we weren’t together, we would sleep with the light on. If I had trouble sleeping, I’d look at it and think of her.” Harry laughs. “Not that I needed a light as a reminder. But it was nice to know that she’d be thinking of me too. It took me six months to be able to sleep without it.”

“Shit, Haz.”

Harry shakes her head. “It’s stupid.”

“It’s really not.”

Harry sniffles. “Okay.” 

“Do you need me to stay on the line?”

“No, just call me when you’re here. Thanks, Li.”

Liam sighs. “Don’t thank me yet.” She hangs up before Harry can respond.

Harry shuts off the nightlight and stands up. The door to the storage unit is lifted and Harry sighs in relief, shielding her eyes from the harsh light. She steps forward, but it’s not Liam on the other side.

Louis raises an eyebrow. “Styles.”

Harry steps out of the unit and Louis closes it. “Um, I can explain?”

Louis looks at her and sighs. She walks away without a word.

Harry’s rooted to the spot, unable to untangle the knot of thoughts and feelings coursing through her. If she thought being away from Louis for so long would somehow lessen her attraction to her, she was severely mistaken. 

Louis looks at her over shoulder and Harry finally remembers how to move, jogging to catch up to her.

“I’m really sorry, Lou. And not just for breaking in, for a lot of other things too.”

“Would you like some tea?”

Harry furrows her brow. “Oh. Um, that’d be great. If that’s okay?”

Louis snorts. “Oh now you’re worried about boundaries?” She opens the door to the apartment building, holding it for Harry. 

Harry follows her up a set of stairs, to the first door on the right. Inside, she takes off her shoes and looks around. There’s nothing that she immediately recognizes. “It’s a nice place, but why’d you move?”

“One thing at a time, yeah?” 

Harry follows Louis into the kitchen. “Right, sorry. I promise I wasn’t like trying to snoop. I didn’t go through anything.”

Louis fills a kettle with water and places it on the stove. “I know. You wouldn’t have found what you were looking for anyway.”

Harry frowns.“Oh.”

Louis leans against the counter, facing Harry. “I didn’t throw anything out Haz, it’s just in my closet is all.”

Harry nods. “Thanks then.” 

“It’s a bit...weird, seeing you after all this time. Not sure how to feel.”

Harry smiles and shrugs. “One thing at a time, yeah?”

Louis smiles, small but promising. It’s enough for now.


End file.
